Define sysout files with format recfm(f,b,a)

[Denis FALLAI]

Hi,

Various property files declared in the build-conf folder define BPXWDYN formats for sysout files.
These files are defined with a recfm(f,b) parameter.
In this case, the carriage control characters associated with file records are the machine carriage control characters, most often a non-displayable character.

The presence of non-displayable characters in a file is impractical for working with a file that normally contains only text.
Also for debug tools that work with build listings this can be problematic.

I believe it would be better if these files were defined with a recfm=(f,b,a) parameter.
In this case, the carriage control characters associated with file records are the ASA carriage control characters, which are displayable characters.

Example present in the Cobol.properties file:

cobol_printTempOptions=cyl space(5,5) unit(vio) blksize(133) lrecl(133) recfm(f,b) new

To have a displayable ASA jump code, we must declare:

cobol_printTempOptions=cyl space(5,5) unit(vio) blksize(133) lrecl(133) recfm(f,b,a) new

See:
IBM Machine Code Printer Control Characters
ASA carriage control characters

Incidentally, the USS asa command transforms the ASA carriage control characterss into classic text line breaks and page breaks.
asa - Interpret ASA/FORTRAN carriage control